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Sam Kennedy says Red Sox are not ‘back’ until they’re pouring champagne on each other in October
Sam Kennedy said he is excited about the Red Sox' new additions, but they must produce on the field.
The Red Sox have created some offseason buzz by signing gold glove third baseman Alex Bregman and trading for an All-Star starting pitcher in Garrett Crochet.
The Red Sox also have three of the top 25 prospects in baseball — Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kristian Campbell —waiting in the wings.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said this week that the Red Sox have a “formidable” team and that he liked it better when the Red Sox were hovering around .500. Boston went 81-81 last year, and 78-84 in the two seasons before that.
There is optimism that the Red Sox could return to their winning ways this season.
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“Coming to a deal with Alex Bregman was absolutely huge for our franchise,” Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy said during a recent appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “Free-agency is really difficult since we’ve talked about ad nauseam the last couple of years.”
“We were able to match up on a deal and we’re really excited about his arrival. He’s a proven winner, and most importantly he chose us,” he added. “He had lots of options and he really wanted to be in Boston. He wants to play at Fenway in front of Red Sox fans … so coming into camp with a lot of enthusiasm.”
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But, are they back to spending like the baseball powerhouse they once were? Kennedy pumped the brakes a bit.
“Free agency has always been part of the strategy as we’ve talked about,” Kennedy said. “There’s been limits on where we’ve been willing to go. We take the bullets for that when we fall short of signing certain free-agents.”
“But, we’re not back until we do it on the field,” Kennedy added. “We’re excited about this season. We think we’ve got a real competitive group, there’s a great vibe down here, but we’re not back until we’re pouring champagne on each other in October.”
The Red Sox have four World Series titles since 2004, with the most recent coming in 2018. But, Boston has missed the playoffs in five of the last six seasons. The Red Sox haven’t made the playoffs since 2021, when they fell to the Astros in the ALCS.
The last time the Red Sox went four consecutive years without a playoff appearance was from 1991-1994.
“We’ve obviously scuffled in recent years,” Kennedy said. “But there’s always been that commitment and a burning desire to win championships and we share that with [Alex Cora].”
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